“France loved her, so as we went and played some of the Division I schools in France, I think she formed a reputation over there,” Delaney-Smith said. “When she chooses to play professionally, I think she’s going to look at France, and hopefully there’s a network of people that we can get back to and get her a spot over there.”
And while the trip helped the players get comfortable on the court, there were situations off it that also helped team unity.
“The trip was a great team-bonding experience,” Peljto said. “We spent a lot of time together touring important historical places and looking at the beautiful scenery in Europe.”
According to sophomore guard Jessica Holsey, “French people aren’t as snooty as most people think.”
But the Crimson players still had to contend with culture shock as they tried to figure out what to eat on top of adjusting to the different playing styles of the European club teams.
All of the players kept daily journals to record everything they saw and experienced, including last summer’s record-breaking heat wave and long bus rides from the hotel to the games. They learned how not to get pick-pocketed as they visited laundry list of tourist havens, including the Eiffel Tower, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Louvre.
The team also got in extra workouts swimming in Lake Lucerne and climbing the Swiss Alps in Switzerland.
“It was absolutely incredible—we took a pulley-type train straight up halfway up the mountain,” said Bell of the Alps. “Then we got out and were chair-lifted up in twos to the top of the mountain. The chair lift was rather frightening considering we were thousands of feet up in the air. As [sophomore Shana Franklin and I] were going up the chair lift, we labeled different sections of the Alps below us as ‘dangerous,’ ‘painful’ and ‘certain death.’”
But perhaps the most trying physical challenge came in a small—albeit biting—form.
Bell and Moore suffered mosquito bites covering their entire bodies after they made the mistake of opening their window to combat the heat.
“It was about 105 degrees,” Bell explained. “We were just about suffocating trying to sleep through the heat and the entirely French-speaking television shows. So we opened the window, which had no screen, against the advice of the hotel staff and laid in bare-minimum clothing trying to fall asleep.
“When we woke up, the French rap was still blazing on the TV, and Bev and I were covered head-to-toe in bug bites!”
Bug bites aside, the mix of playing basketball and touring Europe helped the team grow closer. The journals of the trip have since been copied and collated so the team has a record of every member’s experience.
“I’m sure there are parts of the trip that aren’t in this journal for my eyes, but I think this is a very disciplined team, a very committed team,” Delaney-Smith said. “They know what they’re able to accomplish this year.”